Storage structure with reciprocating gravity-fed extension rails



Dec. 31, 1968 s. L. BEESLEY 3,419,185

STORAGE STRUCTURE WITH RECIPROCATING GRAVITY-FED EXTENSION RAILS Filed Oct. 5, 1967 Sheet 0f 2 IN VE N TOR SCOTT L. BEESLEY BY 7k4// HIS ATTORNEY Dec. 31, 1968 s. BEESLEY 3,419,185

STORAGE STRUCTURE WITH RECIPROCATING GRAVITY-FED EXTENSION RAILS Filed Oct. 5, 1967 Sheet 3 of 2 INVENTOR SCOTT 1.. BEESLEY BY 4 w HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,419,185 STORAGE STRUCTURE WITH RECIPROCATING GRAVITY-FED EXTENSION RAILS Scott L. Beesley, 464 West 5560 South, Murray, Utah 84107 Filed Oct. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 672,511 4 Claims. (Cl. 221-176) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Alternately sloping rails gravity feed rows of cans to vertically reciprocating rail extensions having holdback means. In the raised positions the rail extensions receive cans and in the lower positions hold back the upper row of cans while transferring previously received cans to the lower rails.

The present invention relates to apparatus for storing and dispensing cylindrical containers of food or other substances and materials and, more particularly, to a new and improved structure permitting controlled descent of containers within the structure and other improvements that render the structure far more versatile than those heretofore devised.

The present invention includes in its structural features all of the residential, commercial and capacity advantages of the inventors United States Patent No. 2,901,118 and, in addition, incorporates improvements which render the structure unusually versatile, safe to use, and more reliable than designs heretofore employed.

The engineered structure can be adapted to store and dispense one or more varieties of items within a single cell unit, and this without interfering with the operation of units so far as accessability of other items within the unit are concerned.

It is to be understood in the description which follows that the storage cell design can store and dispense any number of varieties or classes of containers within each cell unit, the number being determined solely by the size of the containers and the size of the cell unit desired.

Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved structure for the storing and dispensing cylindrical containers of food and other items.

An additional object is to provide in storage structure a gravity feed which can be controlled so as to prevent damage to the storage structure through container momentum which could otherwise be generated through loading a particular .cell.

A further object is to provide a storage structure having controlled gravity feed wherein the buckling of containers near their bottom levels is avoided.

A further object is to provide conveniently operable lever means for container-storage structure wherein, by actuation of such lever means, depleted storage rows can be readily filled in a convenient manner, either from the exterior of the structure or by controlled descent of rows of containers above the particular depleted row or rows involved.

A further object is to provide for both front and rear loading of serpentine-type storage units of cylindrical containers.

An additional object is to provide structure for accommodating inclusion of a desired number of storage cells, this to constitute a desired bank of cells which ice can be readily adjusted to accommodate the inclusion of additional, desired cells.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view, partially shown in fragmentary View, of certain storage structure incorpo rating the basic principles of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal, vertical section taken along the line 2-2 in FIGURE 1, illustrating the representative chute rail construction common to both sides of the structure, this as well as additional structural details hereinafter described.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary detail of a principal part of the upper portion of the structure shown in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, but illustrates the configuration thereof when the lever means of FIGURES 1 and 2 has been depressed downwardly so as to elevate the movable regulator unit of the structure with respect to the stationary central storage unit thereof.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary front 'view of a bank of assembled cell units held in place in certain storage structure.

FIGURE 6 is enlarged, fragmentary elevation, taken along the line 6-6 in FIGURE 1, of the regulator spring support mechanism used in conjunction with the movable regulator unit of the invention.

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic view indicating the mannet of container insertion through that portion of the structure which includes swinging admittance stops the purpose of the inclusion for which will be described.

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary plan view of the upper portion of the structure of FIGURE 5, this illustrating a slotted configurement which can be utilized to advantage in permitting the addition of cell units to a bank structure of the same.

In FIGURE 1, the storage and dispensing cell 10 of the present invention is shown to include a central storage unit 11 and a movable regulator unit 12. Central storage unit 11 includes a pair of sides 13 and 14 which are secured together by top members 15, bottom spaces blocks 16, and front and rear pluralities of spacer blocks 17 and 18. Each of the sides 13 and 14 is likewise provided on their inner surfaces with mutually corresponding fixed, mutually spaced, interleaved, rearwardlydeclining and forwardly-declining chute rails 19 and 20, arranged in a gravity-feed, serpentine manner as indicated. The spacing S and S between the most proximate portions of adjacent rails 19 and 20 is sufficient to permit cylindrical containers, such as cans of desired size, to pass therethrough. Secured to the top and bottom of the respective central storage unit 11 are top spacer member 21 and bottom spacer member 22. Bottom spacer member 22 rests upon and is supported by base 23, the

latter including leveling screw supports 24. The bottoms cells may be conveniently spaced, both top and bottom, by the edges E of spacer members 21 and 22.

Afiixed to sides 13 and 14 will be respective pivot blocks 27, one being shown, which will provide a fulcrum pivot 28 for lever 29 of lever means 30. Lever means 30 includes plural levers 29 disposed at either side of the central storage unit 11, and the lever means 30 will be supplied a handle 31' connecting the actuating end portions 32 of the individual levers 29.

Movable regulator unit 12 in fact comprises a pair of interconnected frames F each having upright side members 31 and 32 and top and bottom members 33 and 34. Corresponding members 3134 will also be found on the opposite side (in the corresponding frame F) of the central storage unit 11. See FIGURE 1. Both frames F of the movable regulator unit 12, which frames F are disposed on respective sides of central storage unit 11, include slide guides 36 and 37 respectively attached to side members 31 and 32 by attachments 38 and 39, as indicated. The slide members overlap the sides 13 and 14 of central storage unit 11. Link member 40 is pivoted at its extremities by pivot means 41 and 42 to the work-end portion 43 of lever 29 and also to bottom member 34, as indicated. Again, the structure is the same on both sides of the cell unit. For convenience of illustration but one side is shown, see FIGURE 1. Top member 33 on each side of central storage unit 11 is disposed sufficiently beneath spacer member 21 so that there is ample room for up-and-down movement thereof pursuant to the actuation, up and down, of handle 31. See the dotted line configuration thereof in FIGURE 2. FIGURE 2 also illustrates that an additional crossbrace 45 may be provided, in addition to handle 31', between the two levers 29.

Affixed between corresponding side members 31 are outer intermediate stops 47, terminal stops 48, and inner intermediate stops 49. Also, incorporated in the design are the swinging admittant stops which swing inwardly, as shown by arrow A in FIGURE 2, but which are prevented from swinging outwardly by virtue of stop shoulder 51 of stop 52. Accordingly, the swinging stops 50 provide for the insertion of cans forwardly into the central storage unit 11 but prevent cans from coming out when the movable regulator unit 12 is moved upwardly. In this regard it will be seen that the downward movement of handle 31 produces an upward movement of work-end portion 43 of lever means 301. This action, in turn, lifts upon the link member 40 which as a conse quence lifts the movable regulator unit upwardly.

With reference to FIGURES 1 through 4 the operation of the basic structure will now be described. Assume that the structure is in the position shown in FIGURE 1. In such event the rearwardly-declining rails 19 will accommodate the placement thereon of a plurality of containers such as food-containing cans. However, the cans will not proceed downwardly in a serpentine fashion until the handle 31' of FIGURE 2 is urged downwardly. This will be described hereinafter. It can be observed now that the central structure can be loaded by placing cans through the ends of the movable regulator unit, both back and front if desired, in a manner as seen in FIG- URE 3. The phantom-line configuration of the cans indicates initial placement of the cans, and the solid lines indicate the final disposition of the cans. Accordingly, the entire unit can be completely loaded without the actuation of lever means 30 in FIGURE 2. It will be seen hereinafter that even though the front of the unit at F is accessible, yet the entire unit can be loaded through successive actuations of lever means 30. In any event, for simplicity of discussion, we shall consider at the outset that the unit is accessible at both front F and rear R so that pluralities of cans rest upon the side-by-side aligned chute rails, (i.e. chute rails 19 and 20 of the corresponding sides 13 and 14 of central storage unit 11). At each terminal stop 48 there will be a can ready for removal from the cell unit. See in FIGURE 3. A removal of this can will cause a rolling down toward terminal stop 48 of the cans behind the same. These cans may be successively removed as needed. Suppose now that a particular level L is to be filled with cans disposed thereabove, i.e. the can row K supported by chute rails 19. In such event the usher will simply press downwardly upon the handle 31 in FIGURE 1 in order to lift the movable regulator unit 12 upwardly. This condition is shown in FIGURE 4. In such event, the sides 32 in FIGURE 4 move upwardly so as to displace upwardly the inner stops 55 (secured to and between upright side members 32). This enables can C to continue its travel to extension rails 56 and inwardly-sloping rails 58. These extension rails are fixedly disposed on the inner surfaces of side members 31 and 32 in selective registry with chute rails 19 and 20, as shown in FIGURE 2, and when the lever means 30 is up as shown in FIGURE 1, the extension rails 56 and inwardlysloping extension rails 58 of the respective side members 31 and 32 are aligned with respective chute rails 19 and 20. (It will also be observed that stops 55 are disposed between the parallel, mutually spaced, upright side members 31 and 32 of movable regulator unit 12.)

Returning now to FIGURE 4 it is seen that if there are additional cans as at C disposed on a particular pair of rails 20, the swinging admittance stops 50 will still prevent the cans from rolling outwardly during the upward movement of movable regulator 12.

Thus, the effect of moving the lever means 30 of FIG- URE 2 downwardly, so that the movable regulator unit or frame 12 reaches its upward disposition, is to capture one can C on the particular, corresponding rails 56 and inwardly-sloping extension rails 58 as seen in FIGURE 4. Stop members 55 are so constructed and arranged that the'descent of movable regulator unit 12, as is enabled through the upward replacement of lever means 30 (through gravity action and release of hand pressure), enables the rails 56 and 58 to move downwardly and the stop means 55 as well; the latter preclude subsequent cans from rolling out in a direction rearwardly and frontwardly of the central storage unit 11. See FIGURE 3. Thus, the cans so captured in FIGURE 4 are delivered to the lower-most level where they are inclined to roll in a reverse direction, i.e. toward the front and rear of the cell unit.

Thus, each complete lever actuation captures in the regulator unit one can from rearwardly-declining and frontwardly-declining levers these cans to the lowermost descending rows. This need not be done for every can removed, but merely is required when a particular descending row of cans is empty. Where a particular descending row is full, including a can on a particular set of rails 56 of the rear portion or 58 of the front portion regulator unit, then no additional cans will be received since the last can will prevent any additional cans from moving into any of the rearwardly and frontwardly located regulator unit cavities.

The upper edges E of all stop members are preferably tapered upwardly to accommodate easy can removal and insertion in the respective instances. Mutually corresponding ones of the extension rails 56 and 58 mutually face each other and are aligned respectively and attached to the inner sides of uprights 3 1 and 32 on both sides of the cell units; these extension rails slope inwardly to the center of the unit except those in registry with terminal stops 48 which slope outwardly. Again, these extension rails are aligned with their respective corresponding rails 19 and 20 as seen in FIGURE 2, yet may be brought in registry, neglecting angular orientation, with adjacent rails as seen in FIGURE 4.

FIGURES 5 and 8 illustrate various ways in which cells may be assembled. FIGURE 1 should also be referenced in this regard. In FIGURE 8 it is seen that the upper or top connecting member 25, corresponding to top-connecting member 25 in FIGURE 1, may be provided with a slot 59 for accommodating movement of cells from left to right or from right or from right to left. This enables a user to move cells in a particular direction and add additional cells as desired. Individual spacer members 21 and 22 regulate spacing and accomplish alignment of the various cell units 10.

FIGURE 6 is a detail of the regulator spring supports 60 utilized in the invention. See also FIGURE 2. It is seen that with the provision of these, the lever means 30 may be urged downwardly and then even released completely so that the same travels upwardly at a rapid speed, and this without damaging the movable regulator units since the same will simply descend downwardly under gravity until the regulator spring supports 60 contact base 23. The springs of the support 60 offer a resiliency to keep the cell unit from being damaged through inadvertent or other immediate release of handle 31 when the same is disposed in a downward position as shown in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 7 simply indicates the way in which containers or can C can be inserted through the swinging admittant stops 50 to rest upon the corresponding, downwardly-descending rails 19.

Accordingly, what has been provided is a storage unit retaining the basic, serpentine gravity-feed features of conventional storage units, but which relieves the structure from inordinate forces that can be generated through gravity feed 'when the same includes an upper admittance opening and the cans are caused to travel a long distance to the bottom of the unit. In the present instance a threecompartment cell has been indicated, i.e. three different outlets for cans at the front side of the unit has been shown. The same unit could be simply a single storage unit as desired with the cans coming from the bottom of the cell, and yet even this configuration would not permit damage to the cell through inordinate container travel and pressures that can be generated through long lines of serpentine-travelling containers. Rather, each or a plurality of storage rows can be gradually depleted and then, at any time, be replenished by actuation of lever means 30.

For convenience of illustration FIGURE 2 illustrates that there may be provided three outlets for containers. Where a single outlet at the bottom is desired, then the stop means 47 and 49, and extension rails 58 would be continued on down the structure in registry with forwardly-declining and rearwardly-declining chute rails 19 and 20- respectively until the lowermost, outlet level is achieved. This would require the removal of terminal stops 48, corresponding extension rails 58, swinging admittant stops 50, and stops 52; except the lowermost terminal stop 48 and corresponding extension rail 5-8 would not be removed. The stop members 61 provided limit container travel with respect to containers descending rearwardly along their chute rails, see FIGURE 4. If the upper edges E of stops 61 are angulated, this will facilitate removal of cans from the rear of the structure where such is desired.

Preferably the spring support members will be adjustably threaded or otherwise adjustably secured in their respective mounts M, see FIGURE 2, this in order that the extension rails 56 and 58 may be aligned with the respective rails 20 and 19 when the lever means 30 is disposed in its upper position as shown in FIGURE 1.

Commercial adaptation can be made of the storage cells by having aligned return rails disposed at the bottom of the structure, for example, in a manner somewhat as indicated in the inventors issued United States Patent No. 2,901,118. Additionally, can retrieval, if desired, can be be accommodated at the rear of a single outlet structure by simply extending the lowermost chute rails 19 (through the addition of extension rails 58, corresponding swinging admittant stops 50, and stops 52 between upright members 32), eliminating the stop means 55 associated therewith, and adding a stop block 47 in registration with the added extension rails. In this event the rails therebelow can slope forwardly and be used as container return chute rails.

If desired, lever means 30 can be reversed in disposition so as to be actuated from the rear of the storage cell unit. In such event links on both sides of the equipment would be disposed, most preferably, proximate the frontend portions of bottom members 34.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects, and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. An upstanding, storing and dispensing cell including, in combination, a central, upstanding storage unit and a movable regulator unit, lever means pivoted to said central, upstanding storage unit and having a work-end portion coupled to said movable regulator unit for selectively raising and lowering said movable regulator unit with respect to said central storage unit, said storage unit including mutually spaced, gravity feed, alternately forwardlyand rearwardly-angulated chute rail means for conducting cylindrical containers disposed in said central storage unit from a higher level to a lower level therein, extension rails disposed on said movable regulator unit, some of said extension rails sloping inwardly, being aligned with respective ones of said chute rail means when said movable regulator unit is in rest position, and being aligned with next higher ones of said chute rail means when said mow/able regulator unit is in an elevated position with respect to said central storage unit, said movable regulator unit including first plural stop means for preventing container roll-out of said movable container unit, said movable container unit also including second plural stop means for preventing container rollout from said central storage unit at given chute rail means when said movable container unit is at its rest position and for permitting container roll-out from said given chute rail means onto said extension rails aligned therewith when said movable regulator unit is in its elevated position, preparatory to transport thereof to the next lowermost chute rail means through the lowering of said movable regulator unit.

2. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said movable regulator unit includes resilient, shock absorber, spring supports depending therefrom.

3-. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said central storage unit is slidably encased by said movable regulator unit.

4. An upstanding, storing and dispensing cell including, in combination, a central, upstanding storage unit and a movable regulator unit, lever means pivoted to said central, upstanding storage unit and having a work-end portion coupled to said movable regulator unit for selectively raising and lowering said movable regulator unit with respect to said central storage unit, said storage unit including mutually spaced, gravity feed, alternately forwardlyand rearwardly-angulated chute rail means for conducting cylindrical containers disposed in said central storage unit from a higher level to a lower level therein, extension rails disposed on said movable regulator unit, said extension rails sloping inwardly, being aligned with respective ones of said chute rail means when said movable regulator unit is in rest position, and being aligned with next higher ones of said chute rail means when said movable regulator unit is in an elevated position with respect to said central storage unit, said movable regulator unit including first plural stop means for preventing container roll-out of said movable container unit, said movable container unit also including second plural stop means for preventing container roll-out from said central storage unit at given chute rail means when said movable 7 8 container unit is at its rest position and for permitting References Cited container roll-out from said given chute rail means onto UNITED STATES PATENTS said extension rails aligned therewith when said movable regulator unit is in its elevated position preparatory to 3,096,908 7/1963 Parker et a1 221298 X transport thereof to the next lowermost chute rail means 5 through the lowering of said movable regulator unit and STANLEY TOLLBERG, Primary Examineraccessible stop means for accessably retaining outermost ones of containers for withdrawal from said movable US. Cl. X.R. regulator unit. 221295 

